Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution explores the history and current state of LGBTQ comedy — the pioneers, the breakthroughs and the setbacks. Above, Lily Tomlin, left, Wanda Sykes, Joel Kim Booster and Trixie Mattel. Netflix hide caption “Comedy’s always a reflection of the culture, good and bad,” says Page Hurwitz.
Her new Netflix documentary about the history and current state of LGBTQ comedy is proof. Through archival footage, performances and interviews, Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution spans nearly a century of LGBTQ comedy, including the milestones and setbacks for queer comedians pursuing careers making people laugh. A multigenerational who's who of comedy fills this documentary.
Lily Tomlin, Rosie O’Donnell, Eddie Izzard, Sandra Bernhard, Billy Eichner, Fortune Feimster, Tig Notaro and Solomon Georgio are among the many performers who recount their personal stories of developing their comedic styles and grappling with homophobia. Page Hurwitz gives opening remarks at the Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York on June 7, 2024. Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet/Netflix hide caption Hurwitz began her career doing stand-up in the late 1990s in San Francisco’s Castro district.
Today, she writes, produces and directs comedy specials and TV series. When she started putting the documentary together, she knew there was something she had to get right: “We’re the gays, so I wanted to make it dynamic. There’s nothing worse you co.
